February - life in the fast lane

On February 20th Gerritt spent his first full day with his babysitter Anna (from 10 am to 5 pm). Poor thing! He was so stressed out that that night he slept from 10 pm to 6 am without waking up once to eat. On February 21st Gerritt was at Anna's again from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm. That night he slept for 6.5 hours straight, woke up to eat, then slept until 6:30 am. Maybe that's the secret... If you want a good night's sleep expose Gerritt to new people and/or situations!
The week of February 18th has been a busy one. I was stressed out juggling commuting to work, dropping Gerritt off & picking him up at Anna's, driving to pick up the donated breast milk from Kerry, trying to plan nutritious meals for the family & get enough sleep while doing it all. All in all, my new job at Planned Parenthood has been very satisfying, so all of the sacrifices have been worth it. It has been warm & sunny these Monday & Tuesday, so I took Gerritt for a walk outside on both days. After dressing him in 3 layers of warm clothes, putting a hat on & bundling him up in a Bundle-Me Bunting, I walked with Gerritt & Charlie for over an hour. Gerritt fell asleep after the first 15 minutes of our walk. It feel great to exercise! Life is starting to feel normal again. :-)
On February 26th Gerritt got his 2nd round of immunizations (DTaP and Rotavirus). Our new doctor's office has ran out of vaccines so after waiting for 2 weeks & still not hearing from them I took Gerritt to the North Seattle Public Health Center. Thankfully, he did not experience increased fussiness, fever, diarrhea, vomiting and poor sleep this time. He just slept for about 3.5 hours after getting home from the clinic. I premedicated him with liquid Tylenol prior to the clinic appointment. That might have helped...
On February 28th Gerritt had his first accident. He fell out of his swing & hit his head on the floor. My hubby & I felt awful! He was sitting next to the swing & it took a moment of him looking away at TV screen for Gerritt to fall out. Poor thing! He cried a little, mostly from fear, & got a small bump on his right forehead. I have iced it right away, so the bump was gone by morning. Gerritt is getting more agile every day. I guess we have underestimated his abilities.
On February 29th Gerritt has tried his first solid food - mashed banana. He sure enjoyed it! He learned to open his mouth & swallow the food right away. He kept opening his mouth & trying to grab the spoon the whole time, almost like saying, "Give me more, please! Don't stop!" The next day, I gave Gerritt banana again in a different form - locked inside a feeder. The feeder is a small mesh bag that can contain a fruit or a vegetable that a baby can suck on preventing choking. Unfortunately, I found out bananas have caused Gerritt to have severe constipation, so the next fruit we've tried were pureed prunes. They were a big hit as well! What a joy it is to help Gerritt discover all of the different flavors in the world! It is pretty funny to watch his face when he is trying a new food item & deciding whether he likes it or not. Fun times!
At the end of February I've also introduced Gerritt to a BornFree sippy cup. BornFree is a company specializing in baby feeding products made of Bisphenol-A free plastic. Only the best for Gerritt! He wasn't able to drink out of it yet, however, it turned out to be a great teething toy. Gerritt loves to chew on the BornFree nipple!

My Mom's visit

My Mom has visited us for 1 month from January 11th through February 11th. She arrived on Friday, the day before Gerritt's 100-day celebration. Gerritt did not like her at first & would cry loudly every time she got close or attempted to pick him up, however, by the following Tuesday, they have bonded. I spent most of the month orienting for my new job, working 3-4 days a week. It was great to have my Mom here to take care of Gerritt. It gave me a peace of mind knowing that he was taken care of while I was away.
I took my Mom to the airport to fly back to Russia last Monday. Her flight was at 7 am, so we left the house about 3:30 am. My husband & Gerritt stayed home since we thought it would be best for Gerritt to continue sleeping rather than to disrupt his daily routine. Right before my Mom & I took off Gerritt woke up, so my dutiful Mom fed & changed him before we left. The separation from Gerritt was really hard on her. She was in a sad mood & crying the evening before her departure. I was crying as well on Sunday, in anticipation of my Mom leaving. We said good night to each other in the evening, knowing that both of us needed to get some sleep before a long day ahead, however, I couldn't sleep & sat in a rocking chair crying. When I checked on my Mom, she was also crying while laying in bed. I hate saying good-byes! You realize how much you still need your Mom even though you are all grown up & have a baby yourself.
On Monday (2/11) & Tuesday (2/12) I stayed home with Gerritt. In addition to trying to manage my sadness, I had to deal with Gerritt being sick again. Unfortunately, I had the flu last week. I was so sick I had to stay in bed on Thursday & Friday. I tried going to work on Saturday, however, was sent home. I've experienced cough, headache, diarrhea, body chills & aches, fever of 101.5 F as well as generalized weakness. Gerritt must have cought the virus from me. He did not have any respiratory symptoms, however, had diarrhea for about 3 days. He was having 5 loose stools a day last week, which I wasn't worried about, however, on Monday, Tuesday & most of Wednesday he had diarrhea every 20-30 minutes. I thought I was going to loose it, I was so worried. Between having to change him every 30 minutes, feeding him smaller meals more frequently, trying to keep him well hydrated, & doing everything I could to minimize the bad diaper rash Gerritt was developing, I was getting to the point of exhaustion. I was also worried about starving Gerritt, since for about a day & a half he was getting nothing but Pedialyte to replenish electrolytes he was loosing so fast. I was afraid he would be so hungry, he would not be able to sleep at night, however, Gerritt slept in his usual 4- and 5-hour blocks of time. After a day & a half, I've started feeding him half-formula/half-Pedialyte solution, again in small amounts, & on Thursday (2/14) he was tolerating full-strength formula. I've also added some powdered probiotic supplement to his formula 3 times a day to recolonize his gut with "good" bacteria. After multiple phone calls to Gerritt's doctor I was finally able to get in on Wednesday (2/13) afternoon. It was a waste of time since the doctor said I was already doing everything I should be doing. Even though I was applying tons of Triple Paste after each bowel movement, Gerritt's bottom became very red & tender to touch. He would cry every time I wiped it. I was so relieved when the diarrhea slowed down on Thursday. I didn't think Gerritt's skin could handle any more wiping... Another crisis averted! I guess, it never ends. Just like they say, "Small kids - small problems, big kids - big problems." Plus, we are raising a boy. I am trying not to think of what there is to come later when he will start crawling & walking. One day at a time...

Gerritt is 4 months old!

Gerritt has turned 4 months on February 1st! Time sure flies! He is able to stand in his Jumperoo & hold his head well. He is also better at holding various toys. He loves to put things into his mouth, especially his blanket. He can lay on his back & play with his blanket for up to 30 minutes at a time. He is just so fascinated by it that when he plays with it nothing else matters.
Gerritt has developed memory for people. He knows the difference between members of his family & strangers. If someone he doesn't know attempts to talk to him or pick him up, he starts bawling at the top of his lungs. He is sure vocal! When Gerritt is in good mood, he has the sweetest smile! He especially loves the smile in the mornings after first waking up. One of Gerritt's favorite games is to look at himself in the mirror. I usually hold him up in front of it & ask "Where is the baby?" Once he sees himself or me, he starts smiling. It goes something like this: look in the mirror, big smile, turn away, look again, big smile, turn away & hide behind Mommy's neck, look again, etc.
Gerritt also loves music. We usually sing along with the lullabies on his swing. He doesn't sing along yet, but he smiles broadly every time he hears a familiar tune.
Since Gerritt is able to hold his head, we've assembled his Christmas present from Chris & Gerry - the Rainforest Jumperoo high chair. He sits & plays in it several times a day. Now when we have dinner, Gerritt sits at the same level with everyone else & not by himself on the floor. :-) We've tried feeding him a few teaspoons of rice cereal a few days ago, however, most of it came out. Maybe a few more weeks before adding solids...
Also, no more sleeping in the bassinet. Gerritt has finally transitioned to sleeping in his crib. My Mom has brought with her a thick wool blanket that her dear friend Valya made especially for Gerritt. My Mom lined his crib with it to keep Gerritt warm at night. When she first arrived from Russia he was still coughing & had chest congestion as he was recovering from his 2nd cold. No amount of scientific explanation (colds are caused by viruses & NOT by being exposed to cold temperatures or weather) could stop my Mom from bundling Gerritt in 2-3 layers of clothes plus a blanket on a daily basis. She was firmly convinced that we were abusing Gerritt by feeding him room-temperature formula, not putting a hat on him when inside a car & not responding to his hiccups by bundling him up more. Many cultural differences in baby upbringing have emerged during my Mom's stay with us. As happy as I was receiving wonderful free help with the baby, I grew increasingly tired of defending my views & opinions on a daily basis.
On February 6th, my Mom & I took Gerritt for his 4-month check-up with our new doctor Marcie Hamrick at the Seattle Healing Arts Center. He weighed 19 lbs & 4 oz & was 28 inches long! The doctor wasn't concerned about Gerritt being so heavy since he wasn't gaining weight alone, he was also growing in height. We just have a big boy!
Around Gerritt's 4th month I, unfortunately, stopped pumping breastmilk. It was just too much between orienting for my new job & commuting sometimes 4 days a week to various clinical sites. Learning a new career took so much of my energy, it seemed like I was always running late. Plus my Mom has started watching Gerritt during the night, so I didn't have to get up any more & I couldn't make myself wake up at 3 or 4 am just to pump. I tried carrying breast pump with me everywhere I went to pump every 3-4 hours, however, my supply slowly dwindled down. I think my life became way too hectic for my body to keep producing breast milk. After feeling sad for a few days, I have posted an ad on MamaSource - an internet networking website for local Moms - seeking breastmilk donation. My prayers were answered as a wonderful woman Kerry has contacted me with her offer to donate. She is a Mom herself with a 7-year-old daughter & 18-month-old son who is still nursing strong! So my Mom & I drove to Kerry's house to introduce Kerry & Gerritt on one Saturday afternoon. It takes a special person to donate & I was right. Kerry is a holistic Mom who is strong in her Mothering community. I feel very blessed to have met her!